Spring Break

We're leaving for the Grand Canyon tomorrow morning! Pictures and stories to follow!

Overpopulation?

Justin Taylor provides a link to a chapter about the population of Europe and its future. Very interesting.

Why is Easter when Easter is?

Here's some help from anonymous source in an e-mail my mom sent to me about the date of Easter:

Easter this year is Sunday March 23 2008. Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify passover. This is why it moves around on our Roman calendar. Based on the above Easter can only be one day earlier (March 22) than it will be this year, and falling on March 22 is pretty rare. This year Easter is the earliest any of us will ever see for the rest of our lives! and only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above) and none of us have ever of will ever see it a day earlier! Here are the facts: The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be in the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was in 1913. The next time it will be a day earlier (March 22) will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was in 1818.

Homeschooling in California

This article strikes closer to home for us now because of our involvement in our church's youth group. Many (most?) of the kids are homeschooled and this could strike quite a blow. Note especially the last quote that Dr. Mohler includes.

What's Right or What's Cool?

Justin Taylor posts an excerpt from Douglas Groothuis, pleading for Christians to wake up. Read it here.

The Found Ark?

Here's an interesting article at Time.com. Seems a bit of a stretch, but has lots of info I've never heard of before.

And here's a crazy video of a mass prank pulled at Grand Central Station.

March!

Some bits of information, staccato fashion:

• I've inspired someone!  Read my friend Eric's blog.
  

• Junior high basketball season is over.  I know I didn't blog about it, so let me fill you in on some season highlights.  We finished 3-9 on the year, and missed the CALOC playoffs.  Our team had only two returning players and a whole lot of short, scrawny seventh graders.  It's true that we weren't as talented a team as last year's, but I really saw marked improvement among the players individually and as a team.  A few minutes ago, one of the seventh graders returned his jersey to me and I made sure to encourage him to keep playing, to keep working hard because I saw so much improvement in him this year.  It was hard being on the losing side so many times, especially when all of our losses but one were by ten or more points.  I learned many lessons this year as a coach, most of them having to do with patience, perseverance, attitude and perspective.  It was good season and I'm reminded how much I love coaching by the fact that as I'm typing this I would usually have been on my way over to the court to start practice.
  

• For those of you who don't know, at the end of January I was accepted into the M.Div. program of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University.  I have sensed the Lord calling me into pastoral ministry and this was and is being confirmed by many different circumstances, conversations (with Amy, my pastors, friends, family) and prayer.  Lord willing, I will enroll in classes in the fall and Amy and I are tentatively planning for it take me four years.  It is a long, grueling program, requiring more units than a JD (law degree) or MD.  Since then, I have begun teaching our church's mid-week service - Reality Check - every second Tuesday of the month.  Amy and I continue to wait on the Lord for his leading in many different ways.  We have decided that I need to work part-time, so I can focus enough time on studying, writing papers, increasing ministry loads at church, etc.  Please pray that we would be patient and peaceful as we wait for God to show us how he will provide for us financially.  I do not know if I will continue at Liberty Christian, but I have told my boss that I would love to come back next year and teach Bible and PE and whatever else he needs until about noon every day.

• Last, the Lakers are playing amazing ball right now, and I can't wait for April and the playoffs!
  

Over-diagnosis?

I'm sure glad I wasn't drugged!

Indy 4

Go here to watch the new teaser trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!

Super Tuesday

Don't forget to vote today! I thought it would be fun to have all the many, many readers of this blog leave a comment stating who they voted for and one or two sentences on why. Let's see if we can get some good discussion and maybe ten or so comments by Wednesday or Thursday.